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Greece: Day 3, Exploring Ermoupoli
Exploring Ermoupoli
The main city on the Greek island of Syros is Ermoupoli, the largest single community in the Cyclades island group and the center of government. The total population of the island is about 20,000.
On my third day in Greece and my first full day on the island of Syros, I began exploring the city, walking through the narrow twisted streets of marble lined with shops or homes. The city is a natural amphitheater curving around the harbor. Neoclassical buildings, many with an obvious Italian influence, step down the hill to the water's edge. Many old mansions overlook the Aegean in the photo above attesting to the prosperous shipping legacy of this capital island.
At one time Ermoupoli was the largest port and shipyard in Greece. Long since eclipsed by Piraeus, Ermoupolis still holds an important shipyard and retains some of its prominence as a port.
The weather on Syros is wonderful with rain maybe a total of 20 days out of the year. I arrived on one of those 20 days but by the next morning the skies had cleared for a beautiful Aegean day. A good day for exploration.
Marble streets, marble square, marble walkways ... in Ermoupoli everything is marble.
Day 2 in Greece ended with a little rain to clean the streets of Ermoupolis but the weather cleared quickly for an amazingly beautiful day of exploration.
This is my innkeeper of Paradise (the name of the inn where I stayed for 30 euro a night), a very kind man who didn't speak a word of English but we got along well.
In exploring Syros I went to one of the many, many Greek Orthodox churches ...
... and stayed to hang out at a wedding for awhile. The big Canon 5D was just too intrusive so I pulled out my point and shoot and made a few frames.
Greek weddings are amazing events with much ceremony, and much fun.
And everyone dresses to the nines.
The port city of Ermopoulis lies below two hills, each with their own cathedrals - one Greek, one Catholic. The populated hill on the left is the medieval town of Ano Syros built by the Venetians in the 13th Century. People living here are mostly Roman Catholic. The hill on the right is considered part of Ermoupoli and capped with an incredible Greek Orthodox church (As it turns out, I kept meeting the priest of this church around Ermoupolis) The residents of this hill are mostly Greek Orthodox. While hundreds of years of tradition, faiths, and geography separate the people of these two hills, little else does. They often join to celebrate each others holidays.
Twilight over the Aegean.
The end of a good day exploring Ermoupoli, making connections with people and figuring out the good places for photos.
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